Food storage and preparation cabinets and enclosures are commonly found in kitchens, restaurants, and other facilities where food is prepared. Such cabinets are used in a wide variety of applications including food warming, cooling, and transporting. Because of the environments in which they are used, the doors of such cabinets are constantly being opened and closed. Typically, these doors are maintained in a releasably closed position by a latching means such as a magnetized or mechanical biasing element, and are opened by manually grasping a handle or indentation provided in the door. Thus, prior art food handling cabinets and enclosures typically require that at least one hand be free by the operator for some duration in order to open them. Thus, placing and removing food from cabinets, which is often contained in bulky carriers, can prove to be very difficult.
One solution to this problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,605. The '605 Patent discloses a latching mechanism external to the cabinet and includes a biasing means for releasing the latch mechanism with the application of momentary contact pressure with a single hand or foot thus, only momentary use of a free hand is required.
Further, because this latch is primarily external to the door and has many of the surfaces exposed, it is relatively easy to clean. Thus, the accumulation of food, dirt, and debris which can create an unsanitary and unhealthful condition in a food handling environment is minimized to some degree.
However, the '605 latch mechanism, while solving some of the above problems, still suffers the drawback of having hidden surfaces and locations which are not easily accessible for cleaning. Thus, it still cannot meet the stringent requirements of certain sanitary codes. The problem of accessibility for cleaning is particularly acute underneath the rocker plate member of the latch mechanism, and in areas in and around the biasing element.